Forsythia Symphony

A funny thing happens in my garden every March...

Everything turns yellow. 

Especially the Yellow Bush, but what else could it do with a name like that?!  I guess we could call it by its formal name, Forsythia, but that wouldn't make it turn purple or blue or pink.  It turns the color it's supposed to, which is why the nickname is so fitting.  Don't you just love things you can count on?

Me too.  And let me show you the other dependable yellow blooms in my yard:

The daffodils are everywhere, and they've all decided to bloom at once.  I thought about taking a photo of every single one, but then I opted not to.  Every once in a while I make a practical decision.

But I did snap a few shots of some especially pretty blooms...

Like this nicely bi-colored little beauty, with its yellow petals and deeper, golden trumpet.

And this sunny one with its ruffly trumpet.  For some reason it makes me think of a hoop skirt with a frilly hem.  (Use your imagination--I obviously do.)

And then we're back to the Yellow Bushes again, and there are so many that it's like Forsythia Symphony playing throughout the garden.  Aaahh...music to my ears.  And it's all due to the work of my hands...

Forsythia roots itself so easily that I have to divide and transplant it every year.  I could just toss the new shoots in the compost pile, but I think the shrub is so pretty that I just can't bring myself to destroy the little starts.  They grow so fast and they're very hardy, so I tuck them in spots where other plants have previously struggled.  They're a great "filler" shrub for my garden, and it's always fun to see the sunny clusters dotting my garden every Spring.

But honestly the best performance takes place beneath the Forsythia...

Where my heirloom Van Sions take center stage, and they really are the star of the show. 

Van Sions are an ancient double daffodil, having first been documented in the year 1620.  These particular bulbs bloomed for close to a hundred years on my great-granny's homestead before coming to grace my garden.  I dug them from beneath the old walnut tree before her property sold a few years back. 

Van Sions like shade so I planted them beneath my young Walnut grove, tucked around the ankles of the Forsythias I'd stuck there the year before.  The area is still shaping up, but by next year it all should harmonize beautifully.

In early Spring the treasures burst up out of the earth, their thin green leafs reaching for the sky.  After the buds appear they slow down a bit and take their time blooming--sometimes up to two weeks!  While I wait, my anticipation builds like a crescendo.   When these old narcissus finally unfurl their green-tinged petals into a shaggy mop of a bloom, it's a spectacular finale.   And after this oddly charming performance draws to a close, I'm prone to giving them a standing ovation--complete with whistles, cheers, and an occasional "Bravo!"

Now you know why the neighbors think I'm nuts.

But there really is something to all that "enjoying the work of your hands" business.  I just happen to take it to the next level every now and then!!